THE chief executiveof Barclays Bank yesterdayadmitted he did not usea Barclaycard to borrow money because it was tooexpensive.

Appearing before the Treasury Select Committee, Matthew Barrett was criticised for the fact that while interest rates had fallen by more than two thirds since 1992 to just 3.5%, interest charged on a Barclaycard had come down from 24.6% to 17.9%.

Asked by the chairmanof the committee John McFall, Labour MP for Dum-barton, what he consideredan excessive rate of interest,he replied, "I think if I hadto pay more than I can get elsewhere in the market, I would consider going elsewhere."

Committee member George Mudie, Labour member for Leeds East, then asked if that meant Mr Barrett had a Cahoot card in his wallet as they charged interest at just 8%.